Submarine maintenance at heart of £26bn naval base overhaul after years of underfunding

A £26bn overhaul of the Royal Navy’s main bases could be the largest since the Battle of Trafalgar, Defence Procurement Minister Luke Pollard has suggested, as he acknowledged that years of under-investment had held back submarine maintenance.

Project Royal Oak will rebuild docks, berths and engineering facilities at HMNBs Clyde, Devonport and Portsmouth over the next decade.

At Faslane, more submarine refit work will be carried out alongside Devonport as the base prepares to support the growing Astute fleet, the future Dreadnought-class deterrent submarines and, eventually, SSN-Aukus.